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Holmes LB, Hunt AT, Will LA, Dhillon R, Deutsch C, Adams J. Facial dysmorphology in children exposed in pregnancy to anticonvulsant medications correlates with deficits in IQ. Am J Med Genet A 2024; 194:e63511. [PMID: 38126162 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.63511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Some children exposed at conception to the antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) phenytoin (PHT), phenobarbital (PB), and carbamazepine (CBZ) have changes in their midface and fingers. It has been suggested that the anticonvulsant-exposed child with these subtle changes in facial features (the "anticonvulsant face") has a greater likelihood of having deficits in IQ in comparison with children exposed to the same anticonvulsants who do not have these features. 115 AED-exposed children (40, PHT; 34, PB; and 41, CBZ) between 6.5 and 16 years of age and 111 unexposed children matched by sex, race, and year in school were evaluated. The evaluations were (WISC-III), physical examination with measurements of facial features and digits and photographs. The AED-exposed children had cephalometric radiographs, but not the unexposed. Each parent had a similar examination of face and hands plus tests of intelligence. These AED-exposed children showed an increased frequency of a short nose and anteverted nares, features of the "anticonvulsant face." Lateral skull radiographs showed a decrease in the angle between the anterior cranial base and nasal bone, which produces anteverted nares. Mean IQs were significantly lower on one or more IQ measures for the children with these facial features. Shortening of the distal phalanges and small fingernails correlated with the presence of a short nose in that child. The findings in 115 children exposed at conception to either phenytoin, phenobarbital, or carbamazepine, as monotherapy, confirmed the hypothesis that those with a short nose and anteverted nares had a lower IQ than exposed children without those features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lewis B Holmes
- Medical Genetics and Metabolism Unit, Mass General for Children, Salem, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Leslie A Will
- Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ruby Dhillon
- Medical Genetics and Metabolism Unit, Mass General for Children, Salem, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Curtis Deutsch
- Psychobiology Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, UMass Medical Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jane Adams
- Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Dreier JW, Christensen J, Igland J, Gissler M, Leinonen MK, Vegrim HM, Sun Y, Tomson T, Zoega H, Bjørk MH, Bromley RL. Prenatal Exposure to Antiseizure Medications and Risk of Epilepsy in Children of Mothers With Epilepsy. JAMA Netw Open 2024; 7:e2356425. [PMID: 38407908 PMCID: PMC10897746 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.56425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Importance Use of valproate and certain other antiseizure medications (ASMs) in pregnancy is associated with abnormal fetal brain development with potential long-term implications for the child. Objective To examine whether use of valproate and other ASMs in pregnancy among mothers with epilepsy is associated with epilepsy risk in their children. Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective, population-based register cohort study included singletons born to mothers with epilepsy in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden from January 1, 1996, to December 31, 2017. Data analysis was performed from October 2022 to December 2023. Exposure Redeemed prescription for an ASM from 30 days before pregnancy until birth. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcome was epilepsy in children, assessed using International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision diagnoses from hospital care. Adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) and 95% CIs were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Secondary analyses included dose-response analyses, analyses using children of mothers who discontinued ASM prior to pregnancy as the reference, and sibling analyses. Results This cohort study included 38 663 children of mothers with epilepsy (19 854 [51.4%] boys). Children were followed up from birth; the mean length of follow-up was 7.2 years (range 0-22 years). Compared with 22 207 children of mothers not using an ASM in pregnancy, increased risks of epilepsy in children of mothers who used valproate in pregnancy (monotherapy: AHR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.70-2.79; polytherapy: AHR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.49-2.96) were observed. However, there was no dose-dependent association, and there was a similar risk of epilepsy in siblings who were exposed and unexposed to valproate (AHR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.50-1.82). Prenatal exposure to topiramate monotherapy was associated with increased risk of epilepsy (AHR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.30-4.16), and the risk was greater for higher doses, but the risk attenuated in comparisons with children of mothers who discontinued topiramate before pregnancy (AHR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.26-5.44). Prenatal exposure to clonazepam monotherapy was also associated with increased epilepsy risk (AHR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.16-3.12), but limited follow-up and low numbers precluded further analyses. No associations were observed for prenatal exposure to lamotrigine (AHR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.95-1.47), levetiracetam (AHR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.77-2.14), carbamazepine (AHR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.85-1.50), or oxcarbazepine (AHR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.44-1.05). Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study of children born to mothers with epilepsy, the associations found between prenatal exposure to certain ASMs and the child's risk of epilepsy did not persist in sensitivity analyses, suggesting that maternal ASM use in pregnancy may not increase epilepsy risk in children beyond that associated with the maternal epilepsy itself. These findings are reassuring for women in need of treatment with ASM in pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Werenberg Dreier
- The National Centre for Register-Based Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus V, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Jakob Christensen
- The National Centre for Register-Based Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus V, Denmark
- Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Affiliated Member of the European Reference Network EpiCARE, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jannicke Igland
- Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
| | - Mika Gissler
- Knowledge Brokers, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
- Region Stockholm, Academic Primary Health Care Centre, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maarit K Leinonen
- Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Affiliated Member of the European Reference Network EpiCARE, Aarhus, Denmark
- Knowledge Brokers, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Yuelian Sun
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Torbjörn Tomson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Helga Zoega
- School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- Centre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Marte-Helene Bjørk
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Neurology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Rebecca L Bromley
- Division of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom
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Ren T, Lee PMY, Li F, Li J. Prenatal Carbamazepine Exposure and Academic Performance in Adolescents: A Population-Based Cohort Study. Neurology 2023; 100:e728-e738. [PMID: 36323520 PMCID: PMC9969917 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000201529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To investigate whether children born to mothers who used carbamazepine during pregnancy had worse academic performance in adolescence. METHODS This population-based cohort study included all live-born singletons in Denmark between 1996 and 2002 who participated in the national ninth-grade exit examination (n = 370,859). Those born to mothers with prescription of antiseizure medications other than carbamazepine during pregnancy were excluded. We examined the association of in utero exposure to maternal carbamazepine redeemed during pregnancy (n = 290) with academic performance of offspring, defined by the scores in Danish and mathematics in ninth-grade exit examination. We estimated mean z-score difference with linear regression adjusted for socioeconomic factors and potential indications, including epilepsy and medication for other psychiatric disorders. Additional analyses addressing confounding by indication included comparison between in utero exposed vs past exposed and between past exposed and never exposed. In utero exposure to valproate monotherapy was used as a positive control and in utero exposure to lamotrigine as a negative control. RESULTS At the age of 16.1 (SD 0.4) years, adolescents in utero exposed to maternal carbamazepine monotherapy had lower scores both in Danish and mathematics in ninth-grade exit examination (adjusted z-score difference, -0.14 [95% CI -0.24 to -0.05] and -0.17 [95% CI -0.28 to -0.07], respectively). In utero exposure to carbamazepine monotherapy was associated with lower scores than past exposure only (adjusted z-score difference, -0.24 [95% CI -0.41 to -0.06] for Danish and -0.25 [95% CI -0.44 to -0.06] for mathematics), while past exposure to carbamazepine was associated with minor decrease in offspring's academic performance (adjusted z-score difference, -0.02 [95% CI -0.09 to 0.06] for Danish and -0.07 [95% CI -0.16 to 0.01] for mathematics). The association was also observed for in utero exposure to valproate monotherapy, but not for in utero exposure to lamotrigine. DISCUSSION In utero exposure to carbamazepine was associated with poorer academic performance in adolescence, as represented by lower scores in ninth-grade exit examination in Danish and mathematics. Additional studies are needed to confirm these findings because of limitations in this study and variable findings in prior studies. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE This study provides Class III evidence that academic performance, as reflected in ninth-grade exit examinations in Danish and mathematics, was worse among those exposed to carbamazepine monotherapy in utero, compared with those without in utero exposure to antiseizure medications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Fei Li
- From the Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health (T.R., F.L.), Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China; Department of Clinical Medicine-Department of Clinical Epidemiology (P.M.Y.L., J.L.), Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark; and Department of Developmental and Behavioural Paediatric & Child Primary Care (F.L.), Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China.
| | - Jiong Li
- From the Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health (T.R., F.L.), Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China; Department of Clinical Medicine-Department of Clinical Epidemiology (P.M.Y.L., J.L.), Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark; and Department of Developmental and Behavioural Paediatric & Child Primary Care (F.L.), Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China.
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